Mukesh Ambani returns to the spotlight
It had all the hallmarks of a coming-out party—or, more accurately, a coming-out-again one. After being uncharacteristically absent from public view for a few years, Mukesh Ambani re-emerged at the end of March for the opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai’s new business district. It houses three theatres, a conference hall for trade shows, as well as a small museum. Plans are afoot to build an adjoining apartment complex and shopping mall. The precise cost of the project is veiled in secrecy, though the figure of $1bn has been rumoured. A single lift, said to be the world’s largest, with a capacity of 100 people, is thought to have set the tycoon back $45m.
The sprawling and opaque endeavour is an apt metaphor for Reliance Group, the business empire that has made Mr Ambani Asia’s richest man. The conglomerate reported record profits in the fiscal year to March, stealing the limelight from a rival tycoon, Gautam Adani, whose businesses are on the defensive after an attack in January by a short-seller. Last year its listed flagship, Reliance Industries, accounted for 21% of the collective revenue of the 30 Indian blue-chip firms in Mumbai’s Sensex index, and 13% of their net profits. With the beleaguered Mr Adani reining in investments, Mr Ambani remains a rare Indian industrialist who is keen to build. Reliance Industries’ capital spending grew from $10bn in fiscal 2021 to $14bn a year later. Last year it spent $18bn, equivalent to 45% of the Sensex total.
In the sectors where Reliance operates, it is dominant. Its Jio telephony unit went from nothing to 439m mobile customers, or 37% of India’s total, in seven years. It gained 1m users in February even as Vodafone, the erstwhile market leader, lost double that number. Reliance’s retailing arm has 18,000 stores, up from 12,000 two years ago, a digital marketplace and a logistics network. It sells everything from gadgets and groceries to…
2023-05-18 07:47:34
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